November 2021 News
Pastor’s Message
“Begin each day with a grateful heart” ~Unknown
Thank you to everyone who helped to make our long awaited confirmation celebration possible. It was so great to bring Emily, Mason, and Declan into the church as full members. I look forward to all they will do among us and beyond our faith community.
So grateful for your continued generosity and giving to the church in meaningful ways. We have been able to stay on pace with the physical needs and financial situations that arise for Dreisbach during these challenging times. Prayers that such blessings continue as we finish the year of 2021. As we enter the season of giving thanks and then the season of giving and sharing in the coming months please remember Dreisbach as one of those groups that you support with your gifts and with your end of the year contributions. Remember that there are ministries within the church and beyond the church that make a difference for folks today and for those that come after us into the future. Options of the CARE Fund, endowment fund, yearly budget, or special projects like the roof or future projects are all options that make a difference and are worthy of your support.
During our November worship experiences I am hoping that you will join me in showing one and all the ways we celebrate and share the thank yous and gratitude in our daily lives. In worship we will gather pics or short videos from you showing how your family celebrates this season. I am hoping that this will lift up the practical ways we can show each other our efforts and this can offer God our best in our daily lives. It is so important to be grateful during your days brings us together in real ways during these continued tough times. Please help us make this a meaningful and fun part of our worship. You can send your pics to Pastor Nate, Pam, or Sandy in the coming weeks so they can be a part of our worship during the weeks of Nov. 14th and 21st worship experiences.
Thank you for the leadership of the consistory during these past months. There has been many unexpected and unanticipated items that needed to be taken care of by this group and they have come through in awesome ways. So many more decisions have needed to be made and it is great that these have been made by more than just the primary staff group of the church. Please thank these folks and please consider your own possibilities and opportunities of being a part of the leadership of Dreisbach. The nomination committee is diligently working for the 2022 consistory team nominees. Please join me in thanking our consistory officers, Pres. Scott Sanders, Vice Pres Tim Sones, and Sec. Tammy Pierce, as they have had to go above and beyond in so many ways.
As you offer your daily prayers, please continue to pray for each other, for your leaders, and for the many families among us, as this time has affected us all in ways seen and unseen, in ways known and ways unknown. Take care of yourself and one another.
Blessings and Prayers for the journey,
Pastor Nate
Worship Schedule this month:
November 7th - (Theme of Week: Risk and Restoration) ALL SAINTS SUNDAY. **Daylight Savings Time Ends** Ruth 3:1-5, 4:13-17; Hebrews 9: 24-28; Mark 12: 38-44. First Sunday Fellowship and Praise Group in the sanctuary.
November 14th - (ToW: Praise the Holy One) 1st Samuel 1st Samuel 1: 4-20; Hebrews 10: 11-25; Mark 13: 1-8.
Harvest Home Collection
November 21st - (ToW: A Wise Reign) Reign of Christ Sunday. 2nd Samuel 23: 1-7; Revelation 1: 4b-8; John 18: 33-37.
November 28th – (ToW: Signs of Things to Come) First Sunday in Advent. Jeremiah 33: 14-16; 1st Thessalonians 3: 9-13; Luke 21: 25-36.
Look Further Ahead
December 5th - (ToW: Make Ready) 2nd Sunday of Advent and First Sunday Fellowship. Luke 1:68-79; Philippians 1: 3-11; Luke 3: 1-6.
December 12th - (ToW: Look Forward) 3rd Sunday of Advent, Isaiah 12: 2-6; Philippians 4:4-7; Luke 3: 7-18.
E-Giving
E-Giving is offering a special Donor Match Program for all church members that add new recurring gifts from November 1 – December 31, 2021.
For every first gift from a new recurring donor that is added between November 1 and December 31, 2021, E-Giving will match that first gift, up to $50, with a maximum match of $1,000 per organization. To be eligible for the matching gift, more than one installment must be set-up and the first recurring gift must be transacted by December 31, 2021. If you are interested in setting an E-Giving account please contact Scott Sanders at 570-898-1506 or sanders2@dejazzd.com.
Donations for Flat Roof Project
Consistory has had several inquiries from members about contributing to the flat roof replacement project. If you would like to contribute you can drop out your check at the church and mark as “Flat Roof Replacement Contribution” or contact Larry Snook on the Investment Committee.
Church Landscape
After many years of keeping the church’s landscape beautiful, Charlie Mensch has decided it is time for someone else to take over that task. We all owe Charlie a huge Thank You for making Dreisbach one of the best kept church buildings in the valley.
Tony Noll and his family have volunteered to take over the responsibility of the church’s landscape maintenance. Thank you, Tony, Melinda and Mason for accepting this task.
Devitt House
Again this year, the members of Dreisbach have been asked to donate Christmas gifts for the residents of Devitt House. We will provide gifts to be distributed. at their annual Christmas Party. A sign-up sheet will be placed in the back of the Sanctuary. Gifts to be returned by December 5th. Thank you
Bethany Children’s Home Gifts
We will again be supporting the kids and ministry at Bethany by buying gifts for the Christmas holiday. There is a list of suggested gift ideas posted in the back of the sanctuary and a link to their website on our website. We will collect the gifts Sunday, December 12th. We are also in need of a volunteer to deliver the gifts. Gift drop-off will be by appointment only due to COVID-19. If you are willing to help or would like more information please contact Pam Pfirman. Thank you for your support of these young people and the life changing ministry that Bethany provides.
New Consistory Members
In December we will be voting in new Consistory members. This is a great opportunity to take part in helping to structure and continue to make Dreisbach a meaningful place of worship. We will have 3 positions to fill. If you are interested or need additional information, please speak to Scott Sanders.
Harvest Home
November 14th we will have our annual Harvest Home celebration. Please bring non-perishable food items to the church for collection to help the hungry in our local area. Don’t worry if you forget, we’ll gladly accept them the following week too.
Bell Ringers
With the repairs to the bell tower now completed we would like to once again ring the bell on Sunday morning at the start of our worship service. We are seeking volunteers to do this each week. All ages are welcome to participate in this service to the church and we thought it might be a fun way to honor members and special occasions for our congregants. A sign-up sheet is available at the back of the sanctuary. If you would like to do so in honor of a special occasion please contact Pam Pfirman (570-898-9774, pam_adminsec@dreisbachucc.org) so we can make note of the occasion in our announcements. Thank You
Greeters
A sign-up sheet is available in the back of the sanctuary for individuals to serve as greeters on Sunday morning. Duties would include arriving by 8:45 to unlock the doors, welcome everyone as they arrive, assist anyone in need of the elevator and making sure the doors are secured after the first hymn. Thank you for your service.
Wreaths Across America
We are pleased to once again be able to hold our Wreaths Across America event at Dreisbach, where we honor and remember the veterans who served our nation. This year’s event will take place on Saturday, December 18th at 10:00 a.m. If you would like to sponsor a wreath to be placed on a veteran’s grave the cost is $20. Sponsor sheets are available at the back of the sanctuary. Thank You
Fall Festival Wrap-up
Our 5th annual fall festival was a huge success due to the volunteers who organized the event and thanks to all of you who donated food, baked goods, and decorations. Volunteers for set up, the food station, games, pie contest, hayride stand, kitchen crew and clean up made the day run smoothly.
Clyde and his fry crew made a big hit with "Clyde's Fries". Once again, we had our hayride with about 112 riders. It was a great day of fellowship with our Dreisbach family and people from all over the area who had a great time.
Pie Contest Results
A big “thank you” to all those who participated in the Fall Festival Pie Tasting Contest and “congratulations” to the winners who are listed below.
Adult Female
1st - Bev Pentz Chamra - Blueberry & Peach Crumb pie
2nd - Elaine Rockey - Apple Butter Pumpkin Pecan Streusel pie
3rd - Donna Chappell - Lemon Creme pie
Adult Male
1st - Tim Sones - Key Lime pie
2nd - Greg Chamra - Bacon Apple pie
3rd - Daren Mensch - Applewood Smoked Apple pie
Youth (up to 18)
1st - Louis Druckenmiller - Cookies & Cream
2nd - Nathan Pfirman - Ribbon Pudding pie
3rd - Landon Druckenmiller - Pumpkin Spice Lattes pie
As you can see we had a nice variety of pies this year and I believe the most that were ever entered as we had 12 different delicious pies!
A “special thank you” goes out to Barb Zellers and my sister, Linda Geiswite, who helped serve all the pies!
Thank you!
Sharon
Rummage report
After missing the rummage sale for two years, many folks were happy to see its return. People brought their donations that had been accumulating in attics, basements, and corners. Customers returned and shopped for treasures. And the workers who make it all happen, members and friends of Dreisbach, came out for a week of hard work and fellowship. Thank you all! We are grateful for your support. Your donations and work resulted in $6,329 that now can be used for the outreach of the church.
As many of you know, the proceeds from the rummage sale have always been used to spread Christ’s love throughout the valley and the world. The rummage sale is sponsored by the Disciples-Wanderers Sunday School class, but we know that it could not happen without the support of the whole church. You helped to raise the money, so we invite you to also be part of the joy of giving it away. On Sunday, November 14th during Sunday School, we will meet in the overflow room of the church to make decisions about distribution. Please feel free to join us. If you can’t make the meeting but have a suggestion, pass it on to Diane Hackenberg.
A Rummage Tale
We often don’t know, really, how our lives and decisions impact others. The Rummage Sale has touched many lives over the years and many regular customers came out to shop and support this year’s sale as if no time had passed. One special supporter, however, was missing.
About ten years ago, Pete Gardner had a milk bottle sale at the Youth Center just down the road from the church. The Dreisbach women had a food stand at that sale and at that food stand was a very delicious sour cherry pie. A man from Centre County was there and when he had a piece of that pie he raved about how good it was and he wanted to buy a whole pie. The baker, of course, was Ella Willow and there was not a whole pie left to be sold, but Karen Mensch told him that the place to get a whole pie was our Rummage and Bake Sale. The man, Carl, gave Karen his number and asked to be called when the next sale came around.
Every spring and fall after that Karen would call Carl before the sale to find out if he wanted another pie and he became a regular, ordering two pies at each sale. Throughout the year whenever he got a dollar bill he would put it into an envelope in his desk in anticipation of the next cherry pies. After a while he learned how to come down the side stairs to avoid the crowds and get directly to the kitchen where he would hand over his envelope and ask for his pies. That envelope would hold $100 to support the youth. After making his donation, Carl would drive over to the Buffalo Valley Produce Auction and enjoy his pie with the fork he carried with him.
When we decided to resume the sale again this year, Karen got on the phone and called Carl and his wife answered. When Karen asked if Carl would like a pie again this year, she heard the news that Carl had passed away in March. Carl’s wife had never come along to the sale, but she was familiar with the pies. When she was cleaning out his desk she found an envelope with one dollar bills in it and she knew that he had been saving for the next pie and that he would want the money to go to the youth. So Karen called Ella who agreed to make a pie and on Thursday morning Carl’s wife showed up and bought the cherry pie in honor of her husband and in support of the youth.
Meetings
· The Investment Committee will be having a meeting at the church on November 9th at 10:00 am.
· The next meeting of the Prayer Shawl Group will be Thursday, November 11th at 6:30p.m. All are welcome.
· Our next scheduled Prime-timers luncheon will be on November 18th. We will meet at DC Coffee & Tea at 12:30pm.